Several medical procedures require placement of catheters/needles inside a biological tissue (such as blood vessel) of a human body. For example, FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) operation 100. In the PICC operation 100, a catheter 110 is inserted into a blood vessel 120 from the arm to the chest. The tip 112 of the catheter 110 usually needs to be localized at a proper position, maybe nearby the heart 130. Typically, the placement of the catheter 110 is currently performed blindly and then confirmed by X-ray detection after completion of the PICC operation 100. X-ray imaging has adequate resolution to see tiny blood vessels, but also causes radiation-related complications.
Toward improved and safer care for patients, including fragile infants, ultrasound guided catheter percutaneous insertions have been widely adopted in clinical practice. Detecting the catheter in ultrasound images can guide clinicians to insert the catheter into a predetermined location of a biological tissue. However, ultrasound images suffer from heavy speckle noise and lower spatial resolution. It is challenging for a clinician to visualize and follow the moving blood vessels in the raw, real-time images when both hands are occupied, i.e., wherein one hand holds and sweeps the probe and the other handles the catheter delicately. According to clinical literature, improper positioning of the tip of the catheter is a suspected cause of severe complications that may lead to death of fragile patients.